On the Resilient Waterfront

Image

CreditChang W. Lee/The New York Times

By Helene Stapinski

May 31, 2018

During a recent tour of the nearly completed park at Hunters Point South, a big storm was brewing. The sky blackened, winds raced and heavy rain began to fall. But the Queens waterfront park was made for moments like this.

The 11-acre green space, which stretches along the Long Island City waterfront from 50th Avenue to Newtown Creek over to Second Street, was designed to withstand major storms. During Hurricane Sandy, Phase 1 of the project was hit with a four-foot-high surge. It survived.

Now Phase 2 — which includes a kayak launch, outdoor fitness equipment and a massive overhang off the East River — was designed to withstand whatever nature dishes out, due to a barrier of new wetlands planted along the water’s edge.

“Back when we were coming up with this in 2008, the idea of resiliency was not on everyone’s front burner,” said Michael Manfredi, one of the architects who designed the space. “This park was radical in that it anticipated major storms. It was the poster child for how we should be thinking about resiliency along the water’s edge.”

Image

Granite-veneer stones destined for the river marsh.CreditChang W. Lee/The New York Times

Instead of old-fashioned concrete bulkheads, more than an acre of native plantings protect the shoreline of Phase 2. The wetlands are inundated by the East River twice a day through a culvert on the property.

Two hundred years ago, the area was made up of wetlands. They were eventually replaced by industrial structures, including a Daily News printing plant, the National Sugar Company refinery and rail yards.

“When the industry left, it was a no-man’s land,” said the Queens councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, who, even before he was elected, was instrumental in getting the park built. “It was scary when we were kids. This was off-limits. It was a green space because it was overgrown.”

The city had planned to build the Olympic Village here for its bid for the 2012 games. When the bid fell through, the city came to the community with plans to develop affordable housing. Five thousand units of housing are being constructed — at least 60 percent of them affordable — plus three new public schools.

Image

The jutting promenade at Hunters Point South.CreditChang W. Lee/The New York Times

“And the community demanded this park,” said Mr. Van Bramer.

Mr. Van Bramer, whose father once worked as a pressman at the Daily News plant, is an active kayaker, and he and his friends in the boating community pushed to put a kayak launch here.

“Before you had to lug the kayaks to the water,” said Mr. Van Bramer. As part of an adjacent development, a boathouse will be built in the next few years. “We insisted there be a permanent place for them.”

Meandering paths that lead down to the water’s edge give the impression of a nature walk — if it weren’t for the looming view of the Empire State Building and the rest of the New York skyline. Twenty-two feet above, jutting out 50 feet over the wetlands, is a cantilevered overlook providing a panorama of the East River and Midtown Manhattan. The overlook itself looks like a stranded ship.

“It’s like the Intrepid,” said Marian Weiss, Mr. Manfredi’s co-designer on the project. “It really is a fantastic undertaking and will be an Instagram destination.” The overlook was built in Maine by a steel fabrication company that does nautical work.

Image

New plantings along the shoreline act as a natural buffer to storms.CreditChang W. Lee/The New York Times

“We thought it was important to bring something nautical to this site,” said Mr. Manfredi, “building on the history of the working waterfront.”

Treated Kebony planks were still being laid down on the overlook, but work was nearly done, with the entire park expected to be completed before July 4.

On a nearby terrace is an outdoor gym, with an elliptical machine and other equipment. Construction workers on the project have been unofficially testing it out in the early morning hours and during lunch breaks, enjoying the view while they work out. There’s also a playground and a large sloping promontory. Even the art installation in Phase 2 — which includes phosphorescent phases of the moon designed by Nobuhu Nagasawa — is relaxing.

Phase 1 of the project, which was completed in 2013 and is closer to the ferry terminal, was designed with more active recreation in mind — basketball courts, a dog run, a bikeway, concession stands, a playground and a turf field. Dorothy Lewandowski, the Queens Parks Commissioner, said her department and the city’s Economic Development Corporation wanted to hit the right balance in the different phases between “active play and something more restful.”

Ms. Lewandowski, who grew up with Robert Moses’ concrete parks and inaccessible waterfronts, said design had shifted in the last decade or so to allow for more natural surroundings. “You didn’t have the opportunity to go to the southern tip of Hunters Point and look out toward Manhattan,” she said. “It’ll be a whole new experience for people.”

The Particulars

Project: Hunters Point South waterfront park, Phase 2

Location: Long Island City, Queens

Driving Force: Designers Weiss/Manfredi, SWA/Balsley, and Arup landscapers, with the Parks Department and the city’s Economic Development Corporation

In the works: Since 2014

Cost: $105 million for infrastructure, roadways and park

Biggest obstacle: Incorporating the river’s brackish water into the design plan